Harlem Roulette
Harlem Roulette is the fourth song on the album Transcendental Youth. Lyrics Unknown engines underneath the city Steam pushing up in billows through the grates Frankie Lymon's tracking "Seabreeze" in a studio in Harlem It's 1968 Just a pair of tunes to hammer out Everybody's off the clock by ten The loneliest people in the whole wide world are the ones you're never going to see again Feels so free when I hit the avenue Nothing like a New York summer night Every dream's a good dream, Even awful dreams are good dreams, If you're doing it right Remember soaring higher than a cloud Get pretty sentimental now and then The loneliest people in the whole wide world are the ones you're never going to see again And four hours north of Portland, a radio flips on And some no one from the future remembers that you're gone Armies massing in the dusky distance Ghosted in the ribbon microphone Leave a little mark on something, maybe Take the secret circuit home Nothing in the shadows but the shadow hands Reaching out to sad, young, frightened men The loneliest people in the whole wide word are the ones you're never going to see again Yeah, the loneliest people in the whole wide word are the ones you're never going to see again Comments by John Darnielle About this Song *"This is a song about the death of Frankie Lymon, who was a wonderful young singer. Then he wasn't young anymore and his voice changed and the world had no further use for him. But he kept trying to work because that was sort of the only line of work he'd ever had. And, uh, he scored a recording contract with a tiny little label out of Harlem called Roulette, there were a lot of tiny little labels in the 1960s, and they let him track like fifteen demos in one night, and he did that, and got a couple hundred bucks, and he went and got some heroin, as you do when you get a couple hundred bucks, and died in his mother's house that night. This is called 'Harlem Roulette'." -- 2012-10-16 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY Things Referenced in this Song * The song describes the last night in the life of singer Frankie Lymon, who died of a heroin overdose in 1968. http://www.mtvhive.com/2012/10/03/the-tragic-story-behind-a-mountain-goats-lyric/ Live Shows this Song Was Played at *2011-10-28 - John Wesley Harding's Cabinet of Wonders - City Winery - New York, NY *2012-07-xx - Gothamist House Session - Florida Keys Recording Studio Rooftop - Queens, NY *2012-09-18 - Pitchfork Session - New York, NY *2012-10-09 - The National - Richmond, VA *2012-10-10 - Ottobar - Baltimore, MD *2012-10-11 - Theater of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA *2012-10-14 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY *2012-10-15 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY *2012-10-16 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY *2012-10-18 - House of Blues - Boston, MA *2012-10-19 - The Haunt - Ithaca, NY *2012-10-24 - The Varsity Theater - Minneapolis, MN *2012-10-26 - Blue Moose Tap House - Iowa City, IA *2012-10-27 - The Vic Theatre - Chicago, IL *2012-11-29 - Terminal West - Atlanta, GA *2012-11-30 - The Grey Eagle - Asheville, NC *2012-12-01 - Mercy Lounge - Nashville, TN *2016-09-01 - The State Theatre - Falls Church, VA *2016-09-03 - Mr. Small's - Millvale, PA *2016-09-18 - Rams Head Live - Baltimore, MD *2016-09-19 - The National - Richmond, VA *2016-09-20 - Jefferson Theater - Charlottesville, VA *2016-09-22 - Buskirk-Chumley Theatre - Bloomington, IN *2016-09-23 - Castle Theatre - Bloomington, IL *2016-09-24 - Midpoint Music Festival - Cincinnati, OH *2016-09-26 - The Englert Theatre - Iowa City, IA *2016-09-27 - Pabst Theater - Milwaukee, WI *2016-09-28 - Majestic Theater - Madison, WI *2016-09-30 - The Waiting Room - Omaha, NE *2016-10-01 - Madrid Theater - Kansas City, MO *2016-10-02 - The Blue Note - Columbia, MO *2016-10-03 - Codfish Hollow Barnstormers - Maquoketa, IA *2016-12-02 - The Pinhook - Durham, NC *2016-12-03 - The Pinhook - Durham, NC *2016-12-04 - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC *2016-12-05 - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC *2017-04-01 - Bond Brothers Beer Company - Cary, NC *2017-04-06 - Badlands - Perth, Australia *2017-04-07 - Fowlers Live - Adelaide, Australia *2017-04-08 - The Edinburgh Castle Hotel - Adelaide, Australia *2017-04-09 - The Factory Theatre - Sydney, Australia *2017-04-11 - The Toff in Town - Melbourne, Australia *2017-04-12 - The Corner Hotel - Melbourne, Australia *2017-05-22 - X-Posure - Radio X Session - London, England *2017-05-22 - Terminal West - Atlanta, GA *2017-05-23 - Cannery Ballroom - Nashville, TN *2017-05-25 - Saturn - Birmingham, AL *2017-05-26 - The Republic - New Orleans, LA *2017-05-27 - White Oak Music Hall - Houston, TX *2017-05-28 - Trees - Dallas, TX *2017-05-31 - The Mayan - Los Angeles, CA *2017-06-01 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA *2017-06-02 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA *2017-06-04 - Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR *2017-06-05 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA *2017-06-06 - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA *2017-06-23 - Beacon Theatre - New York, NY *2017-06-24 - Beacon Theatre - New York, NY *2017-06-26 - College Street Music Hall - New Haven, CT *2017-06-27 - Blue Hills Bank Pavilion - Boston, MA *2017-06-28 - Columbus Theatre - Providence, RI *2017-06-30 - Merriweather Post Pavilion - Columbia, MD *2017-07-01 - PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music - Cincinnati, OH *2017-07-02 - Rose Music Center - Huber Heights, OH *2017-07-03 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL *2017-07-05 - Sumtur Ampitheatre - Papillion, NE *2017-07-06 - Wooly's - Des Moines, IA *2017-07-07 - The Palace Theatre - St. Paul, MN *2017-07-08 - Majestic Theatre - Madison, WI *2017-07-09 - The Castle - Bloomington, IL *2017-07-11 - The Washington Pavilion - Sioux Falls, SD *2017-07-12 - Peabody Opera House - St. Louis, MO *2017-07-13 - ACM@UCO Performance Lab - Oklahoma City, OK *2017-07-14 - ACL Live - Moody Theater - Austin, TX *2017-09-05 - Neighborhood Theatre - Charlotte, NC *2017-09-06 - The Orange Peel - Asheville, NC *2017-09-08 - Bijou Theatre - Knoxville, TN *2017-09-09 - Headliners - Louisville, KY *2017-09-10 - The Vogue - Indianapolis, IN *2017-09-15 - The Waiting Room - Omaha, NE *2017-09-16 - Gothic Theatre - Englewood, CO *2017-10-05 - Brudenell Social Club - Leeds, England *2017-10-09 - Glasgow Art School - Glasgow, Scotland *2017-10-11 - O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire - London, England *2017-10-12 - The Haunt - Brighton, England *2017-10-13 - De Helling - Utrecht, The Netherlands *2017-10-17 - John Dee - Oslo, Norway *2017-11-06 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. *2017-11-07 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. *2017-11-10 - White Eagle Hall - Jersey City, NJ *2017-11-11 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA *2017-11-12 - Brooklyn Steel - Brooklyn, NY *2017-11-13 - House of Blues - Boston, MA *2017-11-15 - Newport Music Hall - Columbus, OH *2017-11-16 - Majestic Theatre - Detroit, MI *2018-08-10 - Outside Lands - Golden Gate Park - San Francisco, CA Videos of this Song *2012-07-xx - Gothamist House Session - Florida Keys Recording Studio Rooftop - Queens, NY *2012-09-18 - Pitchfork Session - New York, NY *2017-05-31 - The Mayan - Los Angeles, CA References Category:Transcendental Youth songs Category:Video